Best 6 Apps Like Tinder

Last updated: May 5, 2017 - 4:44pm EDT

Tinder is a popular dating application for mobile devices, in that it streamlines the dating process. It tries to make everything easy: giving you a ready-made profile when you sign up through Facebook, boiling matching work down to deciding who you "like" or want to "ignore", and making the chat interface with your matches simple and intuitive. It's great for people who want to jump right in and start matching and communicating, rather than having to go through a bunch of soul-searching relationship questionnaires.

On the other hand, Tinder forces you to make a Facebook account (if you don't already have one) if you want to use it, and you can't go back to previous suggested matches and re-evaluate your choices for them (unless you have a paid subscription). And one of the biggest potential deal-breakers for Tinder is its (targeted) user demographic. Not only are most Tinder users under the age of 30, but the monthly cost of Tinder's paid subscription service is doubled for users aged 30 and over.

Whatever you're looking for in a dating website or app, if Tinder doesn't ignite your dating spark, then check out these six Tinder alternatives.

1. eHarmony

eHarmony is one of the largest sites like Tinder, and one of the most well-known dating websites in general. Whereas other dating websites focus on the quantity of matches that you can get, eHarmony is all about the quality of the people you're matched with. As it guides you in creating your profile and communicating with matches, eHarmony uses real relationship psychology to streamline your dating experience and make it more likely that you'll form a long-lasting relationship with one of your matches. eHarmony's main downside is that it's one of the more expensive dating websites to use.

2. Match.com

Another one of the most popular Tinder competitors, the claim to fame for Match is the sheer volume of its user base. Serving over 25 countries around the globe in 8 different languages, it had over 15 million active members and 42 million sign-ups in 2004... just imagine how much it has grown since then! Match employs a similar profile-building process to eHarmony, though it focuses less on personality and values, favouring more concrete aspects such as physical appearance, habits, and hobbies. Match is also rather expensive to use, and most of its useful features -- such as viewing and contacting members who are interested in you -- are locked unless you have a paid subscription.

3. Spark.com

Spark.com is another alternative to Tinder that focuses on long-term relationships, similar to eHarmony and PlentyOfFish (see below). Its mandatory "Colour Code" test helps you to understand what drives your behaviour, why you're naturally good at certain things, and what you might want or need out of a relationship. Like Match, most of the communication options on Spark.com are locked unless you purchase a paid subscription.

4. PlentyOfFish

This Canadian-based dating website is another often-frequented Tinder alternative, having over 100 million registered users as of March 2015. It is quite similar to eHarmony, in that it offers two tests for determining the kind of other users with whom you'll be compatible. First, the "Chemistry Test" focuses on your emotional needs, and is used to match you with people who will be more compatible with you for a long-term relationship. Second, the "Relationship Needs" test will evaluate what you need out of a relationship, what might have gone wrong in your previous relationships (if you had any), and what you need to do to make future relationships work better. PlentyOfFish is free to use, but has a paid subscription option if you'd like to know who has shown interest in you, or if/when they have read or deleted a message from you.

5. OkCupid

OkCupid is a dating website that is quite similar to Tinder, in that the matching process that it uses is made out to be somewhat of a game. The system involves answering fun quizzes created by the website's staff and users about personalities, relationships, and dating. Users are matched based on their answers, what answers they would like to see from their matches, and how important they consider each question to be. OkCupid is free to use, but purchasing a paid subscription gives you better search options, better visibility in other users' lists of potential matches, and an advertisement-free experience.

6. Zoosk

Zoosk is even more like Tinder than OkCupid, both in that its matching process is game-like and that it relies on heavy integration with Facebook. Nevertheless, it shares some similarities with the latter website, too, in that it includes popularity contests and personality quizzes. Unlike eHarmony and PlentyOfFish, Zoosk doesn't use overarching one-shot tests to determine whom you should be matched with. Instead, it adjusts the kinds of people that you match with based on what you do on the website; that is, the more games you play and the more quizzes you answer, the better Zoosk will be at finding you compatible matches. Like Match and Spark. most communication options on Zoosk are limited unless you have a paid subcription.

Have you tried any of these alternatives to Tinder? Did they fulfill your romantic needs, or just leave you with heartbreak? Are there any other websites like Tinder that you would recommend to us and our users? Leave a comment below, or stop by our social media pages and leave us a note!

One more thing: if you want to abandon Tinder for one of these alternatives, our last tutorial will show you how to delete your Tinder account.

More Tinder Tutorials

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